A New Type of Hero
by Rapidfyrez
Summary: After Bumblebee lost his T-Cog, he tried getting it back from MECH. Little did he know that he was going to recieve help from an unexpected ally. A person who has suffered at MECH's hands for years. This is his story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_San Diego, California, late at night…_

It was a peaceful night in the suburban outskirts, not a noise could be heard, no cars or lights illuminating the area. Houses lay silent in rows across each street, each one containing small, loving families with children and parents of their own.

Only one sign of activity could be seen anywhere in this peaceful neighborhood. A small green van pulled along the street, creeping carefully along. Its engine was dead silent, and it had no lights to give away its position. They weren't needed. The driver wore a pair of night vision goggles that cut through the night.

This van belonged to a single group, yet unknown to but a few select investors. They were MECH, and they were looking for their subject. The van came to a stop in front of one of the houses, and its engine cut. Nothing moved for several seconds, and it seemed the night might descend into peaceful darkness.

The door slid open quietly, ending the peaceful night, and three men hopped out. Two held stun rifles in hand. The third held a small child in his arms, no older than 6 or 7, silently asleep. The men moved quickly across the grass, their footsteps quick and quiet.

They came to a stop by a window, and quietly eased it open. Once fully opened, one of the men climbed in and raised his rifle scanning the room. It was a child's room, simple green walls, and posters of superheros. Toys littered the floor, and in the corner was a bed with a small figure sleeping soundlessly.

"Clear," he whispered. The other two came in, still holding the child. Moving quickly, they removed the child from his bed, and injected him with a sedative. The two children in their arms were identical, and the men replaced the one in the bed with the one in his arms.

The three made their way out, closing the window silently behind them. They made their way back into the van, their mission complete. They drove off silently into the night, no one the wiser.

_Secret MECH facility…_

The small child, a boy of six years awoke in a small room on a grey uncomfortable bed. He looked around, confused. This wasn't his room, his home. The room was made of concrete walls there was a small sink in one side of the room, and a small alcove with a toilet on the other. A large steel door stood at the opposite end with a miniscule dresser next to it. A lone light bulb illuminated the room, but there was no light switch to turn it on or off that he could see.

He looked down at his small frame to see that he was dressed in grey sweats with grey shoes. What happened to his pajamas, his home? Where was he?

"M-mommy!" he called out, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "D-daddy, where are you!?" he called again, tears starting to spill from his eyes.

He got off the bed shakily and made his way to the door. There was a small handle for adults and he reached for it and pulled. The door didn't budge no matter how hard he tried.

He started crying as he continued to pull on the door. "H-hello! Anyone!" he cried. The door suddenly opened, and the small boy stumbled back. Four men in full body armor came in and surrounded him.

He shrank down, afraid of these strange men, when he noticed a fifth one, a man in a lab coat. His head was bald, and he had a clean shaven face, exposing his pale flesh. The man only briefly regarded the boy.

"Bring subject 181 out with the rest," he ordered and left.

The boy looked up at the men, who grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him to his feet. He remembered what his parents taught him, that if strangers tried to take you away to kick and scream and someone would come to help.

He kicked and yelled as they effortlessly dragged him through the concrete halls, to no avail. He prayed someone would come but no one did. Why didn't they? His parents promised him they would come if he did this. Why would they break their promise?

They came to another metal door, and swung it open, flinging him inside the room. He stumbled and fell, landing face first on the floor. He struggled up and looked to see that the room was full of kids his age.

A girl about seven came up to him. "Are you okay?" she asked, she was the only one to notice him.

He nodded hesitantly. "W-where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was asleep at home, and then I woke up here," she said. "But I can be your friend if you want," she said.

He nodded quickly. A friend sounded good right now. "My name's Alyssa," she said. "Yours?" she asked.

"N-Nathaniel," he said. "But you can call me Nathan," he said.

"How about N instead?" she said. N nodded hesitantly. He didn't want to lose a friend, not here.

A voice cleared itself, and all the children turned to see that same man standing above them on a raised dais. "Hello sweet children, I suppose you are wondering why you're here?" he asked. The children just looked at him in fear.

The man sighed before continuing. "You are here to help us complete a very important task. The continued growth of humanity," he said. The children looked at him, confused.

He sighed again. "You are going to be used to help people become stronger, experiments," he said, and realization dawned on the children's faces. Many began murmuring in fear, and N looked around, terrified.

Experiments were what he saw in the movies, were bad things that were done to people. They could be turned into monsters or even…die. He tried to stay strong; he didn't want to die, not here! Even so, tears started spilling down his face as the idea of death and never seeing his mom or dad hit the mind of a six-year-old.

Alyssa noticed and grabbed his hand. "It'll be ok N, as long as we have each other," she said and hugged the boy. N returned it. He knew he was acting weak, but he didn't care. He was terrified, and this girl was his only comfort. Maybe if they stuck together, they would survive…

_Four Years later…_

N stumbled into his cell as his guards shoved him into the room. The experimenting had been its worst this time, and he wasn't sure how long he'd been out. He was currently blindfolded, but was terrified to see what new scars they might have inflicted on him. Despite this though, N had held out for years, longer than many of the other children.

Of the original 200 subjects, only he and about 20 others were alive, Alyssa included. He was almost certain now that the only reason they had survived was because of their friendship. They'd tried to make friends with others, but most of them had died off in the first year of experiments.

Now there were only 21 left, and N wasn't sure how much longer he'd last. But if he wanted to live, he'd need to see the damage. He slowly removed the blindfold, dreading the new scars. Once removed, he blinked before looking at his body. Nothing seemed to have changed as he examined his limbs and torso.

He needed to see his face though, see what it looked like. He stood to his full 5 foot 5 stature, incredibly tall for a ten year old, the tallest of all the subjects, and moved to the small mirror to examine himself.

He froze at what he saw. His once blue eyes had changed and were bright acid green. But that wasn't the worst part. His face was incredibly pale, nearly as white as the walls around him. His facial hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, were falling off in clumps. He ran a finger over one and brought it forward, looking at the mass of hair on his finger.

He stared at himself in horror, questions racing through his mind. What were they doing to him? Why? Better yet, would he survive the coming experiments?

_Two Years later…_

N sat on his bed, unwilling to move, to stand up and look at what had been done to him. He could feel it; he knew what had been done but refused to look. He and Alyssa were the only ones left, and he wasn't sure if he'd remain sane if he saw himself.

He steeled himself and moved to the full body mirror they'd moved into the chamber. He felt his blood, or whatever was running through his veins run cold at what he saw. Insect like armor was beginning to form over his whole body as far as he could tell. Just the thin edges of the plate, bursting through his pale whit skin.

His face though, horrified him. His mouth…was gone. Instead a plate of armor covered it, sealed to his skin, naturally growing out of him, and covering his mouth and nose. His nose melded into the plate, and there were four symmetrical holes, two on either side of the plate, where he could feel air passing in and out of.

He saw something behind him and turned to look, ignoring the horror show that was his face, and saw the most drastic change. A long insect like tail stretched out of his back, whipping back and forth smoothly and easily. It was smooth on the top with bending exoskeleton plating on top, and moving plates underneath it.

At the end was a long thin needle-shaped stinger. What its purpose was, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was horrified of the change. He couldn't show himself to Alyssa like this. She'd think he was a monster now, a true monster.

The door slammed open, and he whirled to face the men. Four armed guards, as usual, and _him_. The head scientist, the one in charge of this whole operation, the one who'd done this to him. N glared at him angrily. He wanted this man dead so badly.

"Well, it appears we now have another failed experiment," he said and made a tsking noise "What a shame, and we held such high hopes for you 181, but how are we to feed someone without a mouth?" he asked.

N's only response was a low hiss that escaped the vents on his faceplate. The scientist chuckled. "Kill him," he ordered.

N clenched his fists as the rifles were raised. He couldn't let them kill him and leave Alyssa all alone! He made a promise that they'd stick together, and he intended to keep it. Before he could act though, the soldiers opened fire, the bullets ripping through him.

He fell back against the wall, pain filling his body, his tail thrashing in agony. He slid down, and his head went to one side as he grew weaker. One of the soldiers approached him, rifle raised to finish off the twelve-year-old mutant.

N's eyes suddenly shot open, and his tail whipped forward, stabbing the man in the chest. There was a crunch as it entered his chest, and something…odd happened. The tail began absorbing the man's very life force. His life energy was flooding his own, and N felt his wounds heal and new energy flow into him as the man's skin tightened and withered until a grey, thin figure fell on its back, dead.

N looked at his tail in horror and felt a surge of pain through him. He looked at the edges of the natural plate and saw it was growing, becoming more…complete. The head scientist looked at him with morbid fascination.

"Fascinating, he uses the very life energy of other living beings to sustain himself and heal from injury!" he said.

He pointed to him again, N too distracted by his horror to react. "Restrain him. Keep that tail of his restrained, don't need him feeding on the staff," he said. The remaining three restrained him, and placed something over his stinger. He didn't fight it. He didn't want to. After what he'd done, fighting them would be pointless.

"Now take him to the mess hall. I'm sure subject 008 will be interested in seeing how her friend is," the scientist said.

That got N's attention, and he immediately began struggling against his captors' hands. He couldn't let Alyssa see him like this! Not after what he'd done. He struggled and kicked, trying to scream, only to get a muffled cry through his mask. Despite this, the three dragged him to the mess hall and shoved him in.

The mess hall was a large room designed to sit two hundred, fit with many stainless steel tables lined up in rows. A small dispenser with food and drink was at one end and dispensed a food pack for any who needed it. Fluorescent lights lit up the area with their harsh glow, and N spotted Alyssa sitting only a few feet away.

She turned to look to him and gasped. "N?" she asked.

N immediately scrambled away, ashamed by his appearance, his change, and what he'd done. Alyssa stood up and made her way to him. She had no sign of physical change. In fact, if it weren't for the tired look in her eyes, you'd swear she was a physically perfect twelve-year-old.

She was about 5 and a half feet tall with black hair that was cut below her ears. Her eyes were the only sign of her tampering, glowing a bright red that offset her pale milky skin. She was dressed in their standard grey attire that all the subjects wore.

Compared to N's monstrous appearance, she was perfectly normal. So to N, she shouldn't be near him; she didn't deserve it, but despite his scrambling across the floor, she approached him. He felt his back hit a wall and shielded his face from her, hiding his shame.

"N, is that you?" she asked, kneeling by her friend. He didn't move, only trembled in place.

"N, it's okay, you can put your hands down," she said. N shook his head no. He was too ashamed of his appearance.

Alyssa sighed and grabbed his, arms moving them out of the way. She gasped slightly at his mutated appearance and, the boy averted his acid green eyes in shame. "Oh, N, what did they do to you?" she asked.

He looked back at her red eyes and felt a few tears trickle down his face. He wished he could tell her, he really did, but he couldn't speak, not without a mouth. Alyssa placed a hand on the side of his face, causing him to flinch slightly, before allowing it.

"You can't speak, can you?" she asked. He shook his head in confirmation, and the girl embraced him.

"I wish you could so we could communicate," she said. "So I could help ease this," she whispered. N let out a choked sob, as the two sat there, wanting to do nothing more than show her what happened.

Suddenly, without warning, Alyssa gasped as his memories of recent events poured into her mind, along with his emotions. N looked at her, concerned, only barely aware of what he was doing.

"N…you just showed me your memories," she said quietly. "You can still communicate with me!" she said excitedly.

N felt happiness enter his system as the two embraced. Many things had changed, but they could still talk, still be…friends…

**A/N: So my first attempt at an OC in one of my fics what do you guys think? Review what you think of this concept and if I should continue it. PM me with questions. Bye!**


	2. Chapter 1: Escape

Chapter 1: Escape

_Autobot HQ, four years later…_

The atmosphere in the base was quiet, little was going on amongst the Autobots since their human companions had returned home hours earlier. Since the return of Optimus Prime's memories, the base had been relaxed, the Decepticons doing little in the way of plotting or scheming. Because of this no one had anything to do, and their companions weren't there to keep them occupied while they waited for something to happen.

It just so happened to be that something did happen. The terminal beeped, and the face of an African-American man, Agent Fowler, appeared on screen. "Prime!" he said in his traditional greeting.

The large red and blue mech made his way to the terminal. "Is something the matter Agent Fowler?" he asked.

"It's MECH related," the agent said. "We managed to capture one of their agents and learn the location of one of their facilities," he explained.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for a human team to head in?" the blue femme known as Arcee asked, walking up to the terminal with the green mech, Bulkhead, and yellow and black scout, Bumblebee.

"Ordinarily, yes," Fowler said, "however, intelligence suggests that the facility may be home to one of their experiments. We don't want to risk a human team going against unfamiliar tech. Since the Autobots have faced this tech before…" he started.

"Then it would be logical to send us in and disable any possible experiments MECH may have created," Optimus finished.

"Exactly," Fowler said with a nod," but my superiors aren't forcing it on you for once, so it's your decision," he said.

The base was silent as the Autobots turned to their leader with questioning looks. Optimus himself was silent, thinking on his decision. On the one hand, MECH was a human organization, not Cybertronian, and Autobot philosophy refused to allow them to normally harm humans.

On the other hand, MECH had practically declared war on the race of sentient machines with the capture of Breakdown. The poor Con had practically been torn apart by the human terrorist group who wanted to use Cybertronian tech to give them an edge. Only the arrival of Bulkhead, his long time rival, had saved the Con.

Optimus looked at Fowler. "We shall assault the base, however we will be sure to limit human casualties as necessary," he warned.

"Good enough for me Prime. We'll send in a cleanup crew when you're done, find out what Si has been up to," Fowler said, and his image cut out.

Optimus turned to his team. "Arcee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, you shall come with me. Bumblebee, you have the bridge," he ordered.

"Me?" Ratchet asked, confused. The medic was rarely called onto field missions and wished to know why Optimus chose to bring him.

Optimus nodded. "If we are dealing with a possible MECH experiment, we may require your scientific expertise to dismantle it," he explained.

Ratchet nodded and walked up next to the other two Bots. Bumblebee entered the coordinates and pulled a lever activating the ground bridge. The ground bridge was a portal that allowed instantaneous travel to any point on the planet with no time duration.

A green portal swirled to life in front of the team, and Optimus addressed his troops. "Autobots, make sure to limit human casualties. Our objective is to secure the base and dismantle any experiments. Understood?" he asked.

The three nodded, and Optimus turned back around. "Autobots, roll out!" The four transformed and drove into the portal, not entirely sure what to expect…

_MECH secret facility…_

N paced frantically in his cell, seething over everything that had happened to him. Ever since his first true change, life at the MECH facility had only grown worse. No matter how hard he fought or resisted, the guards and scientist made certain to make his life a living hell.

They no longer experimented on him, to his utter relief, but that didn't mean they left him alone. They tested him, tried to figure out his abilities. He was forced to fight to train, until he was left exhausted. Sometimes he was forced to keep fighting until he keeled over and was too exhausted to even move.

The regimen was only partly devised by _him; _a new man for them to hate had begun to appear. He was tall, strongly built, had a buzz cut, and several scars marred his face. He'd heard the staff refer to him as Silas, and from how the head scientist acted towards him, it was obvious that he was the one in charge of this organization.

Occasionally, the man would drop by, at least once a month, for reasons he wasn't sure of. All he knew was that he was forced past his limits during his visits, and N had quickly grown to hate the man.

N shuddered, the training wasn't the worst part. After every intense training session he was forced to feed. A prisoner of some sort was shoved into the arena, and N was forced to feed. He refused to at first, leading to the prisoner's execution and punishment for himself. Initially, they hurt him, punched, kicked, and sometimes even stabbed him, but he still refused to listen.

He only listened when they threatened Alyssa. They said they'd hurt her, keep them apart, and maybe turn her into him. He'd complied after, and fed on the poor prisoner every time. He hated it, hated that he had to feed. Every time he fed, the plating had grown more and more, slowly covering his form and corrupting his memories.

For some reason, the feeding killed off his older memories, his memories of who he was before the experiments. He couldn't even remember his full name anymore, only Alyssa's nickname, N, and his ID number, but like many things in the facility, he hated it with a passion, just like the men in charge, his cell, the facility, and humans in general.

Over the years, N had grown to hate humans, resent them. Humans were horrific, evil creatures, and only a few had shown him otherwise. Alyssa was one, but even she wasn't human, not anymore. His parents were the only other humans he didn't hate, but he wasn't sure they were even alive anymore.

N stopped his pacing and sighed, air blowing through his vents with a slight whistle. He looked at the mirror and examined his now monstrous appearance. Over the years he'd transformed, changed, and the process was sped up every time he fed. Now he barely looked human.

His whole body was covered head to toe in that exoskeleton armor. His arms, legs, torso, and head were covered in green armor. His forearms, shins, and upper torso had shiny black armor. A pair of shell shaped wings sprouted from his back, pitch black like the armor on his shoulders. He couldn't fly with them, but they moved in accordance with his mood.

The plate over his mouth had become more smooth, and taken on a black appearance as well. Armor covered his head as well, creating a bony organic helmet. A horn sprouted from above his forehead and shot into the air, splitting into a fork and resembling the horn of a beetle.

His feet had long since melded into a single shape, making it appear as if he were wearing full body armor. In actuality, it was all natural armor, and he appeared to be an almost human beetle.

He looked at his hands and scowled. Like his eyes, they were the only human side left of him, and only just. They were covered in smooth black segmented armor, the softer armor on his body. Green plates covered the tops of his hands and the fingers, compensating for the weaker armor of his hands. His fingernails were long gone, leaving smooth tips. Like his feet they resembled gauntlets, but at least they retained their dexterity.

His tail lashed about in anger, and he clenched his fists. He longed to be free of this hell hole, and was confident if he timed it right, he could be. He'd found that his armor could deflect weaker bullets and even rounds from rifles; the only advantage to his mutations.

But he wouldn't try and break out, not without Alyssa. The girl had helped him stay sane and hold onto his sanity through the years, and in return he provided companionship to her, communicating with her over their telepathic bond.

Initially the two had to physically touch for him to share his mind with her, but eventually the bond strengthened, and N found that the two could communicate over very short distances without touching. Well, N could, if only through emotion, he'd yet to actually talk to her through the bond, but it was better than remaining silent.

However, a recent development had made N eager for the next visit in the mess hall. After he lost his mouth, N had been practicing in attempts to speak. It took years of practice, but slowly he managed to learn to speak without his mouth. By manipulating his breathing vents size and slant, an ability he'd discovered quickly enough, and enunciating with his throat, he could pronounce basic letters and vowels. Only recently, had he nearly perfected it to the point of saying full words, and he wanted to surprise his friend.

The door to his cell opened, and he whirled to see eight guards armed with heavy stun rifles and batons waiting for him. As he'd evolved, they found that four guards weren't enough to restrain his massive seven foot frame and upped it. N didn't care. His stinger was still held tight in the clamp, and the stun rifles hurt. A lot.

The guards motioned for him to follow, and he complied, ducking under the door frame. He stepped out and glared at them. "Move!" one ordered and stabbed him in the leg with a stun baton.

N growled and moved reluctantly. He wanted to see Alyssa, but he was going to make these guards' jobs as difficult as possible. A small piece of revenge, all things considered, but it eased his own troubles, if only slightly.

His long tail swung behind him, causing the guards to give him a wide berth as they escorted him to the mess hall. The only reason they let the two meet up anymore was because they became dangerously violent if they didn't see each other at least once a month.

N had killed four guards when he was kept from seeing her for four months. This would be the first time since then that the two saw each other. He'd changed drastically since they last visited, his wings having grown in, and the black color coming in. Regardless, he was eager to see her.

The door opened and N walked into the room, the door quickly slamming behind him. He scanned the room and saw no sign of Alyssa. Where was she? Odds were she was giving the guards as much pain as possible. She was a fiery one, and the mutations she'd endured had enhanced her strength and reflexes greatly and enhanced her healing abilities.

N sat on one of the tables, his weight too much for the benches, and waited. She'd been late before, so he wasn't worried. His feet rested on the bench below, and his tail lay across the table stretched to its near 15 foot length. He'd discovered it could shrink or compress to nearly any length from 20 feet to tucked under his wings. A useful adaption he was grateful for.

A door on the other side of the room, one of the four leading in, opened and Alyssa stumbled in. The girl straightened herself up and looked to N, the two close enough to sense their presence. Like N, Alyssa had changed over the past four years.

She'd grown taller, nearly 6 feet tall, but was dwarfed by N's massive size. Her hair had grown longer, just above her shoulders. She still wore her standard sweats, but he knew she was well toned underneath; he'd seen her own memories of the fighting she was force to endure. Not as strenuous as himself, but enough that her enhanced abilities allowed her to, in short burst, match his own incredible strength and speed.

She even had an accelerated healing factor to couple with it, allowing her to heal from injuries in minutes what would take others days, weeks, or even months to heal from. All in all, while not as monstrous as N, a blessing in his opinion, Alyssa was just as dangerous as he was.

Alyssa quickly made her way to N, who got off the bench, standing to his full height. The girl embraced him, her head only coming to below his shoulders. N returned the gesture, happy to see her again.

"I missed you," she said quietly.

N smiled and decided to reveal his own little secret. "M-m-m-m-e-e, t-t-to," he said, carefully sounding out and repeating the letters to speak aloud.

Alyssa looked up at him in shock. "N… you can speak!" she exclaimed. "When did you start speaking?"

"Pra-tish," he said, and his head fell at the mispronunciation. He still had difficulty with certain letters, t's and c's in particular.

Alyssa ignored his mispronunciation and simply smiled. "Well, I'm sure that if you keep practicing, you'll be speaking like me in no time," she said. N brightened at that, and his wings perked up slightly.

Alyssa opened her mouth to speak more, when an explosion rocked the base. "What was that?" she asked as the two stumbled. N shrugged, not willing to try and speak right now.

Another explosion rocked the base, and the lights flickered once before shutting off. The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, and the two looked around. N had no problem seeing through the darkness, and he had a feeling that Alyssa could see fine too.

There was a beeping sound, and N looked at the electronic clamp on his tail, only to watch in shock as it fell off. He brought his tail forward and looked to see he really was free of the clamp. He looked to Alyssa, and she nodded; now was the time to escape.

Rolling his shoulders, N stepped up to the door he'd been shoved through only minutes earlier. There was a small glass slit to let the guards watch him through, and he looked through it. There were a total of eight guards waiting outside, rifles pointed at the door. They wouldn't last 5 seconds against him.

Stepping back, N shoved his hands into either side of the door, pushing through the metal. He pulled on the steel door, hearing the hinge strain against his strength. With one final heave, he tore the door off its hinges and tossed it to the side.

"Halt!" one of the guards ordered. "Get back in the mess hall now Subject!"

N let out a low hiss, allowing his instincts to take over. The mutant shot forward, quick as a flash, and impaled the first guard on his tail. Turning, his hand grabbed another by the neck and snapped it with a flick of his wrists.

By now the guards opened fire, and N dodged and weaved the stun rounds, none of them hitting him. He flipped over a guard and swept his legs out from under him, slamming him into the ground with his arm, and trapping him under his foot.

Ducking down, his tail shot forward and swept the remaining five guards off their feet. He leapt forward and snapped the first one's neck and moved on, killing each guard before they could put up a fight. The last one managed to fire a round in his midsection, but N ignored the numbness and hit the man with an open palm, shattering his sternum and killing him.

He returned his attention to the last guard on the floor, who was still trying to regain his breath. He stalked over to the guard and placed his foot on his neck. With a swift action, his tail embedded itself in him, and began to suck the life out of him.

"N?" Alyssa asked as he finished. He looked up at her and back to the withered corpse on the floor and stepped back. He looked at her again, this time his eyes portraying the horror and guilt that he felt over what he'd done.

"It's alright N, let's just keep moving," she said and he nodded, moving forward as the facility continued to rock from time to time. N's heavy plated footsteps echoed through the empty halls as they tried to make their way to the surface to escape.

As they moved, three soldiers ran across the hall, only to stop as they saw the two. N stopped and put himself between Alyssa and the soldiers.

"Subjects, return to your cells immediately!" one of them ordered. N didn't respond, simply glared at them.

"I said return to your cells!" he ordered and fired a round of live ammo at him. The bullet ricochet off of his armor, and the guards gaped at him. Clearly Silas hadn't warned the soldiers that N was invulnerable to their weapon fire.

"Stay," N ordered to Alyssa, and shot forward. He ran towards the three, bullets pinging harmlessly off his armor. The lights in the hall flickered off again, and N leapt onto the ceiling, moving along it from above. By the time the lights flickered back on, he was directly above the soldiers.

"Shit, where'd he go?" one of them asked, voices quivering. They paid Alyssa no mind as N's tail lowered behind one of the soldiers.

"I don't know. Keep your eyes pe-" he was cut off as N's tail stabbed into him, causing the others to yell in shock as their comrade withered away before them. N whipped his tail forward again and stabbed the other one, landing behind him and using him as a shield against the remaining soldier.

The soldier hesitated shooting long enough for the other to be drained. He shoved the corpse to the ground, and his tail ran him through, absorbing his life energy as well. N shivered as the essence flowed into him and his strength increased. Every time he fed, a little more strength was added to him.

Alyssa approached him, ignoring the bodies. "N, I know you feel bad about this, but just remember: they signed up for this, they chose to guard us and let us be tortured, they don't deserve our sympathy," she said. N nodded. She had a point. MECH soldiers deserved no mercy for what they'd done.

The two made their way forward, leaving the bodies behind. N became more restless as they moved. This was too easy. The scientists were too careful to let them get too far, even if they were under attack. His suspicions were proven true as they opened a door and found themselves in a large hangar.

Dozens of guards surrounded the two, and the head scientist stood in the center, shaking his head in disappointment. "I am sorely disappointed in you two; I had expected you to act more behaved then this," he said.

"We're leaving, you monster!" Alyssa yelled while N used himself as a shield, "and you're not going to stop us!"

N just glared at him in agreement while the scientist laughed. "Silly girl, do you really think we'd let you leave?" he said.

The two looked at him confused. "181 is a failure, but you, 008, you have potential," he snapped his fingers, and Alyssa fell to the ground writhing in pain on the floor. N kneeled next to her, and tried to bring up their bond and comfort her. The result was a wave of pain rolling through his own skull, and he stumbled back.

"I wouldn't do that 181. You see, Silas only wants one of you alive," he explained, "but I don't want to waste a creature like yourself, so I'm giving you a choice. Leave and never come back," he said, "or stay with your friend and die. Your armor is tough, but these rounds were designed to pierce your armor," he said.

N stood defiantly, refusing to leave Alyssa's side, when an unexpected voice spoke. "N… leave," Alyssa said.

N looked at her, his eyes wide. "Please, don't lose your one chance at being free because of me," she begged.

N kneeled back down and looked into her red eyes. "I pro-" he started, but Alyssa interrupted.

"Forget the promise N. Promise me this instead, promise me you'll leave," she said, tears starting to trail down her face.

N looked at her hesitantly, and Alyssa noticed. "Promise!" she yelled. "Please N, do it for me?" she pleaded. N bowed his head before nodding slowly.

"Thank you," she whispered, and the two embraced for only a moment. Alyssa let him go and looked at his acid eyes. "Now go N, before they change their minds," she ordered.

He nodded and stood, walking towards the exit. The guards and scientist moved out of the way, letting him pass. N glared at the head scientist as he slowly walked to it, before turning forward and slowly opening the door. N didn't need to shield his eyes, as it was night and there was no moon to speak of.

He heard firing off in the distance but ignored it and looked to his left to see open desert. He wasn't sure where he was exactly, but he knew he needed to leave soon. If he left now, Alyssa would stay safe long enough for him to mount a rescue. He took off at a run, his feet pounding against the concrete as he ran to the wilderness.

He slowed to a stop as his feet hit dirt, feeling the substance for the first time in over a decade. He hadn't felt these things in years, but they felt familiar, natural…almost right. He suddenly took off, running full speed, the ground blurring underneath him, when a shot rang out.

He felt a sharp pain in the base of his neck, and fell forward, skidding across the ground before stopping in the dust. He lay there bleeding and unconscious, the bullet having done its work…

_MECH facility…_

The head scientist turned to the guards, knowing that Subject 181 would no longer be a problem. "Restrain her and ready the choppers; make sure to purge the database," he ordered.

"Sir, what about the men fighting the Autobots?" one of them asked while the others restrained Alyssa, who was moaning on the floor weakly.

"They shall provide our escape. The Autobots cannot know about what happened here, understood?" he exclaimed.

The soldier nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good," he said and turned, walking towards the girl lying on the floor, restrained.

He knelt next to her. "You know 008, you should feel privileged," he whispered. "You will lead the next step in humanity's evolution. Think of yourself as a prototype for our species," he said.

"All I feel is disgusted," she spat, and he scowled. This girl was going to be a handful, but overtime, she would come to appreciate the goals of MECH…

_Outside the facility…_

N's eyes snapped open as he woke from unconsciousness. He remembered how Alyssa had told him to run, to flee, to leave. She'd wanted him to be free, but in the end, MECH had betrayed him. He should have seen it coming. No humans could be trusted; they were all liars and cheaters.

N got to his feet, his neck throbbing from the injury, and he felt the need to feed. In the past he fought it, but not this time. Tonight, the base would be his feeding ground, no human would survive his scourge.

N turned to the base and began walking towards the base, his tail tucked under his wings. He slowly made his way forward, each footstep kicking up dust until he reached the perimeter. Several soldiers in green fatigues noticed him and turned to him.

Their eyes widened as he approached. "What the hell is that!?" one of them screamed.

"I'm not sure," another said before talking to N. "You there, stop!" he ordered. N ignored him and continued to walk forward. The soldier fired a warning shot, but the mutant ignored it, his mission was now clear.

"One more step, and we'll open fire!" he warned. N continued to move forward. "So be it! Open fire!" he ordered.

The guards opened fire, but to their shock the rounds simply bounced off N's hard carapace, leaving no visible mark on him. N stopped ten feet away from the closest guard, his wings flared out. His tail slid out from its spot on his back and revealed itself. It shot forward and impaled the man's chest.

The others screamed in horror as their comrade had the life drained out of him. N scowled. It seemed that the hunt…had begun…

_Autobot HQ…_

The Autobots all stood in base, going over their bitter sweet victory at the MECH facility. Few human casualties had been incurred, and the experiment was gone as far as they could tell. Now the human military was occupying the base, sweeping over anything they might have missed.

They doubted that any of the humans would find anything they missed, but still, if they found something worthwhile it would add to their victory. In the meantime, Ratchet was running a diagnosis on the bots to make certain that MECH hadn't used some secret unknown weapon against them.

Bulkhead and Optimus had checked out fine, but right now Arcee was in the middle of her own check up. She insisted that she was fine, but the doc bot refused to let her leave 'til he was done. Arcee was about to argue her case further, when a beep on the terminal caught everyone's attention.

Fowler's face appeared on screen. "Prime, we got a problem," he said.

"What do you mean Agent Fowler?" the towering mech asked.

"That base you and your team just captured?" he said. "Yeah, we lost contact with it."

"Perhaps it was a communications error," Optimus pointed out.

"We thought so too, so we sent a team to investigate," Fowler said and paused for several seconds. He seemed reluctant to share what they found.

"What did they find?" Optimus asked.

"Every human at the base, MECH prisoner or otherwise, is dead," Fowler said, and the base fell silent.

Bulkhead broke the silence. "How…did that even happen?" he asked.

"We weren't sure ourselves until we noticed a pattern with the bodies," Fowler said. Several photos flashed on screen, and the Bots gasped. All the bodies shown had a deep puncture wound in their chest and looked as if they had the life drained out of them.

"What could do something like this?" Ratchet asked, disgust clear on the medic's faceplate.

"We found our culprit once we searched through the cameras posted around base," Fowler said.

"May we see the footage?" Optimus asked.

"If you want it, but it's…it's pretty grim Prime, just a warning," Fowler warned and cut out.

A video file appeared shortly after, and Optimus opened it. Grainy footage started up, showing three guards standing by a perimeter, talking or something; there was no audio. One of the guards noticed something and raised his weapon.

The picture was unclear, but a tall, winged figure could be seen approaching the three. The soldiers seemed to suddenly move back in fear, before shouting a warning it seemed. The figure moved closer and stopped ten feet away.

Something emerged from its back, a long pointed tail it appeared, and waved behind the figure. Then it shot forward and impaled the lead guard in the chest. The guards all opened fire on the creature, and the Bots watched in transfixed horror as the figure brushed the bullets off. Sure they were immune to them too, but to see a human sized figure shrug them off…

The video continued to play as the man that was impaled slipped off the tail, his skin withered and dead. The tail stabbed the next guard, and the figure shot forward and grabbed the only remaining guard by the throat. Its position allowed them to see that the figure was covered in some sort of armor, and was indeed large.

The video ended as the last guard seemed to be absorbed as well, and the figure walked off screen. The entire base was silent at what they'd just seen, none of them quite sure what to make of it.

Fowler's face appeared on screen. "Rest of the footage is the same process, that…thing, stabs our boys and then moves on, didn't do it to the MECH soldiers we had restrained though," Fowler said.

"What do you mean?" Arcee asked. "You think _that_ might be the MECH experiment?" she finished.

"We would, if it weren't for the fact that it slaughtered the prisoners in seconds, ripped them apart," he answered.

"Maybe it was a MECH experiment," Bulkhead suggested. "And it got tired of being treated like one," he finished.

"You may be right Bulkhead, but even so, this creature is clearly dangerous and must be captured," Optimus said.

"Why captured?" Bee asked, whirring his question.

"Because if it truly is a MECH experiment, we must find out if they have created more of them," Optimus explained. "And destroy them if need be."

_Unknown Location…_

N slammed the door of the abandoned house down and blinked to clear his eyes of the dust. What he'd done at that base…He realized far too late that none of those men were MECH soldiers. They must have been the attackers, and now N had ruined his chance of getting help for rescuing Alyssa.

N shook his head as he walked into the old house. It was a one story house on the outskirts of some place called Jasper and only had two rooms in it. Regardless, it was still nicer than what he'd been living in and appeared to be in decent condition.

Dust coated the wood flooring and walls, but that would be easy enough to fix. Moon light streamed in from a window on one side, and he saw that the first room was a living room-kitchen combo. He opened the door to another room, and saw that it was a small bedroom with a bathroom connected to it.

He ignored the dusty queen sized bed and made his way into the bathroom. It had a small shower and sink along with a toilet. He didn't need that last one. He never ate anything anymore, simply absorbed energy. Still, he had to check and see if the water ran. To his surprise, the sink worked as well as the electricity.

He wondered why and shook himself of it. Maybe he'd hit a patch of luck, at least for now. This place would be his new home for now, until he could find someone to help him rescue Alyssa. In the meantime, he had to clean this place up. It was filthy.

Living in a dusty, old house was not something N would accept. He immediately got to work cleaning the dust the best he could. He managed to find an old broom and quickly swept the dust and cobwebs out, the most normal thing the mutant had done in years. Regardless, once that was done, he tossed the old bed out. It was far too old to provide any comfort.

Instead, N lay on the rug, closing his eyes as he tried to sleep. Tomorrow he'd find a disguise and explore this Jasper and possibly find help. But for now, he needed to sleep; otherwise he'd be of no help in rescuing Alyssa…

**A/N: Well, the first real chapter of the story, and what do you guys think? I liked writing it and might focus on it for another chapter or two before focusing on my other stories, sorry. But remember to review this story and PM me for questions or plot ideas. Seriously, I mean it, review or I'll send N after you. Bye!**


	3. Chapter 2 Exploration

Chapter 2: Exploration

_Outskirts of Jasper…_

N felt something wet brush against his face and clenched his eyes in irritation. The wet object brushed against his face again, and he opened one eye to look at the offender. What he saw was not what he expected.

A mid size dog was licking the mutant, why he didn't know. N wiped the slobber off his face and sat up, crossing his legs. The animal, the dog, was about two or three feet high at the shoulder and was covered in black fur. Its under side was white and the very tip of its tail had a white puff on it.

N looked at the dog, having only the faintest memories of an animal like this. He tilted his head to the side, looking at it, and the dog just looked back, wagging its tail excitedly while its tongue lolled out the side of its mouth.

N remembered faintly that dogs were kept as pets by humans and wore collars if they had an owner. He looked on the dog's neck, moving its head with his hand, and saw none. The dog must be a stray then. N felt something pushing on his hand and looked to see the dog nuzzling his hand.

It wanted him to…pet it? N hesitantly stroked the dog's head and noticed its tail started wagging faster. The dog sat on its rump and looked at the mutant, unafraid of his appearance. N cocked his head. Why was the dog not afraid? Couldn't it tell he wasn't human?

Apparently, it couldn't tell or didn't care, as it sat there patiently, waiting for N to resume petting it. N obliged it, found that he was enjoying the action too, and scratched the animal behind the ears. He let out a small laugh as the dog became relaxed and fell over on its side, wanting him to scratch its ribs.

N did and laughed again as the dog's leg started motoring from the scratching. While he scratched the dog though, he noticed that its ribs were heavily exposed. In fact, the whole animal appeared to be underweight.

N felt a twinge of sympathy for the poor animal and slowly stood, not wanting to startle it. The dog simply lay there, tail thumping against the ground. N made his way to the kitchen and realized how the animal got in. He forgot to close the door when he went to sleep.

He searched the kitchen for food or silverware, his tail closing the door while he looked. He found a few empty bowels. but no food to speak of. He sighed. He'd have to find some food for the animal, but in the meantime water would have to do.

He turned the kitchen faucet on, letting a stream of cool water pour out into the white bowl he'd found. Once finished, N made his way back to the room and placed the bowl next to his new pet. The dog lifted his head and began lapping at the water, obviously thirsty.

N watched the dog and had a feeling if he could, he would be smiling right now. He and this dog shared a small kinship. Neither one had a family to go to, nor were they sure where to go next, but at least now they'd have each other for a small comfort.

N lay back down, as it was still night, and curled up. His eyes started to close, when he felt the dog come over and lay by him. He felt himself smile inwardly and fell into sleep with his new friend…

_The next day…_

N woke to see he was laying on the floor alone, his new friend having wandered off. He stood up and scanned the room, seeing no sign of him. He looked into the next room and saw that the dog was curled up on the floor in there.

N inwardly smiled and kneeled next to the dog, scratching its belly. The dog thumped his tail against the floor, but N saw that it was weak. His new friend needed food. He'd have to go into town and look for some food. Then later tonight he could steal the food he needed.

Problem was N would need some sort of disguise to get around. If people saw him walking into town…He knew how the humans would react, and he wasn't in the mood to silence witnesses.

N explored the cupboards and drawers of the house, looking for something that could cover himself. To his shock, he found something that would work quiet well, a large trench coat with a hood that should be able to hide most of his body and horn.

He put it on and mentally frowned. It felt tight and restricted his movement greatly, but it would have to do. He put the collar up, obscuring his face and brought the hood forward, casting a shadow over his face. He looked in a mirror to see that only his acidic eyes were visible through the darkness.

Satisfied that the disguise would ward off any humans, at least temporarily, N turned to the door. As he walked over, he felt something nudge him and looked down to see the dog following him, tail wagging excitedly.

N realized it wanted to go with him, but he couldn't let it. The dog would stay here for now, and N would be back in an hour or two.

"Stay," he ordered, one of the few words he could say without difficulty. The dog seemed to understand this and promptly sat on its rump, whining slightly. N turned and walked out the door, raising a hand as he stepped into sunlight for the first time in 10 years.

His eyes took several seconds to adjust, but when he put his hand down he saw that he was right next to a long stretch of road. He looked to his right and saw emptiness. He looked to his left and saw this Jasper place and set off, walking instead of running so as not to draw attention or tear his disguise.

He was pretty certain that one wrong move would lead to him tearing it open. If that happened, his cover would be blown and he'd be on the run again…

_Jasper…_

N made his way into the town, and saw that it was a fairly deserted place. A few cars and people here and there, but most of the streets and sidewalks were empty. It was almost creepy hearing his plated feet echo off the sidewalk.

N noticed a good chunk of stores and such, but very few were worth noting. In fact, this whole town seemed fairly unspectacular and dull. Why anyone would live here was beyond him, but then, he wasn't one to talk.

N froze as a putrid stench entered his heightened sense, and he turned in its direction to find the source. It seemed to be emanating from a large building labeled K.O. Burger. N wrinkled his face in disgust and continued walking on, putting distance between himself and that vial establishment.

He did see a new store though, a pet shop of sorts, not too far away and made his way to it. It was a small building squished between two other buildings with a relatively generic name of _Bob's Pet Shop_. Even N knew that the owner clearly lacked any imagination what-so-ever.

Regardless, the place would have pet food, and N needed to make sure it was the right food for the dog. He walked through the open door into a symphony of animal noises and smells. He shivered slightly as they overwhelmed him briefly before exploring the shop.

His feet echoed across the tile floors as he walked past rows of hamsters, birds, and dogs before coming to a pet food section. To his relief, it seemed they did have food for his new friend, and he made a mental note to come back here later.

He turned to leave when a cheery voice caught his attention. "Afternoon sir, can I help you with anything?" a cheery, feminine voice asked. N turned around to see a short teen, probably 17 or 18, standing before him with an apron on.

She seemed to just be bursting with cheeriness, and N immediately knew he had to leave now. This woman would want to talk, and he wasn't a talking type. "No," he rasped silently, his unused vocal chords scraping together.

The woman seemed unperturbed by his answer and continued to press forward. "Are you sure? I can provide any kind of help you need," she said.

N glared at her with his acid green eyes and decided he had enough of this girl. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck with a single hand and ignoring her protests brought her to eye level, a good two feet above the floor "No," he repeated.

"O-of course," she said, hanging in front of him. "I-I'll just leave you be," she said quickly.

"Good," N rasped as he dropped her and walked out of the store, leaving the small woman alone and possibly in need of a change of pants.

N looked around, deciding where to head to next. He still had several hours before nightfall and wasn't sure what to do. The best he could come up with was to explore further. It would be best if he was to learn the town better so he could escape quickly through or from it.

He decided to keep going in his direction and walked along the sidewalk. More people were beginning to walk around now, and N noticed the occasional glance at his large form. He ignored them for the most part 'til he came to easily the largest building in the area.

It was a large brick building standing roughly two stories tall. It was fairly long and wide, with a stair case leading in and out of the building. Windows dotted the structure in a symmetrical pattern. A sign by the lawn read _Jasper High School_.

So it was a school of some sort apparently. N had only just begun school when _they _had taken him, so his formal education was fairly low. However it seemed this school had gotten out earlier, as the front lot was empty, save for a few exceptions.

Three vehicles were in the parking lot, a blue and pink motorcycle, a yellow and black Urbana 500, and a green SUV were parked together. Several teens were out front as well, but two in particular caught N's eye.

One was a small boy no more than twelve with red glasses and spiky hair. The other was a teen with red hair and freckled skin, who appeared to be bullying the boy. N clenched his fists and let a small snarl loose. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was those who used their strength to prey on the innocent.

He'd seen his share of bullying in the MECH labs before the other subjects died, and every time he or Alyssa would put a stop to it. Bullying was pointless in there and was pointless out here. N knew he would probably regret this but he wasn't going to just stand by and let him get away with this.

Moving forward he made his way quickly to the two as the redhaired bully shoved the smaller kid. He looked like he was about to do it again when N clamped his hand onto his shoulder. The bully turned to look at him in confused anger.

"Stop," he ordered, another word he'd practiced repeatedly.

"Yeah, and why should!?" The bully demanded, clearly not very intelligent.

N narrowed his eyes. "Stop," he repeated.

"Screw you!" he yelled and threw a punch at the 7 foot tall mutant. N grabbed his arm with ease.

With little effort, he lifted the bully into the air by his arm until he was eye level. "Stop," he hissed. Before the bully could respond, N threw him to the ground, causing him to stumble back and land on his rear.

N gave the small boy a questioning look. "I'm okay, thank you," he said. N nodded and turned around, ready to walk off.

"Hey freak, get back here!" the redhead yelled. N heard something whizzing towards him, and felt a large object hit his head. His head rocked forward, and he clenched his hands in anger.

He slowly stood up, a low hiss escaping his vents as he turned to the bully, his acid green eyes glowing with rage. Realizing he'd likely signed his death sentence, the bully turned to run, only to run into N.

He looked up in shock as N stood in front of him, a low hissing sound emanating from him, the coat around him becoming taught as his rage took over. N had never had a reason to control his rage before, and this bully had just angered him. He was not going to get away unscathed.

N's hand shot out and wrapped around the teens neck as he lifted him high into the air. N glared at the bully, and a growl emanated from his chest. Moving fast, N slammed him against a tree holding him in place.

There was a loud tearing noise as his disguise was torn apart by his wings and tail. He heard several gasps of shock, but ignored them, placing his stinger against the bully's chest.

"Name?" he demanded, his voice coming out in angry hisses.

"V-Vince, what the hell are you!?" he screamed.

"You bully, no more," N stated and his tail reared back, about to end Vince.

"Stop!" a voice yelled. N did so and felt his rage evaporate.

He dropped Vince and turned to the voice, seeing the boy he'd protected earlier. He looked less scared of him and more worried. N's eyes flicked up and he saw two others, a 16-year-old with black hair and blue eyes similar to Alyssa before her changes and another girl about the same age with black and pink hair. These two ran to the smaller boy, as if trying to take him away.

The small boy looked at him curiously, and N did something he'd probably regret. He moved forward fast, causing the two to stumble back fast, and placed a single finger on his forehead. With a single thought, he transferred his memories into the boy and took off, disappearing in a flash…

_Jasper High…_

Jack caught Raf as he fell over unconscious. That…_thing_ had done something to him and was gone. Jack had been surprised, to say the least, by the strange man interfering, but when he revealed himself to be that…

Needless to say, he and Miko were in shock over what they just saw but would have to react later. "Dude, what was that?" Miko asked, apparently not thinking the same thing.

"Don't know," Jack responded. "But it doesn't really matter. We need to get Raf to base so Ratchet can look him over," he said and lifted the boy up.

He turned to the assembled vehicles and looked to the yellow muscle car. "Bee, take the kids to base. Bulk and I will chase that thing down," Arcee, Jack's motorcycle, ordered.

There was a beep from the muscle car, and the two drove out of the parking lot. Bee opened his doors, and Jack laid Raf in the backseat, securing his seatbelt. He sat in the driver's seat and looked to Miko.

"Get in the back with Raf, make sure he's okay," he said. The Asian girl nodded and got in the back, placing a hand against Raf's forehead and checking for a possible temperature.

Bee beeped worriedly as they drove to base. "Don't worry Bee; Raf should be fine," Jack said, trying to comfort the bot

"Okay, am I the only one wondering what the scrap that thing was?" Miko asked

Bee beeped out something in reply, but without Raf there was no way to know what he said. Jack sighed. "Guess we'll have to wait 'til we get to base," he mumbled.

Several minutes later, they managed to pull into base, Miko pulling Raf out of Bee, while Jack carried his unconscious form. Bee transformed to robot mode while Ratchet and Optimus made their way over to the three.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked as he motioned for them to take the unconscious boy to a berth.

Bee quickly beeped out an answer and description of the creature, and Jack saw Optimus widen his optics in shock. It was obvious that the Prime knew something about the thing, and Jack decided to confront him about it.

"Optimus, do you know what that thing was?" Jack asked.

"All of us have a basic idea," was his response. Jack raised a brow at the answer.

Optimus elaborated. "The creature that you saw today is believed to be a MECH experiment of sorts, though we aren't entirely sure if this is true or not," he explained.

"A MECH experiment?" Miko asked. "I thought those guys were all tech based? This looked more like a really big bug man," she said.

Jack nodded in agreement. MECH was tech based. This thing looked more like an animal or heavily armored man if it weren't for the tail and wings on its back.

Optimus shook his head. "We only believe this because it wiped out an entire base once occupied by MECH forces," he said.

Jack and Miko let their jaws drop in shock. That thing had wiped out an entire facility of MECH soldiers alone? That was an incredible feat, to say the least. A question popped onto Jack's head though, and he looked back at Optimus.

"What do you mean, once occupied?" he asked, fearing the possible answer.

"That creature attacked a MECH outpost after the forces had been replaced with normal military forces. It was immune to machine gun fire and systematically killed every soldier on site," Optimus explained.

The two's eyes widened in horror at this revelation when a thought occurred to Jack. "But why would this apparent killing machine come here and not kill anyone? He practically stopped from killing Vince when Raf asked him to," Jack said.

"We believe that the creature still thought the base was under MECH control and reacted accordingly. Obviously, it's still very dangerous to civilians," Optimus said, glancing towards the unconscious form of Raf, whom Ratchet was scanning.

"How is he?" Jack asked, walking up next to his friend.

"Fine actually. There is nothing wrong with him as far as I can tell. Maybe the shock of seeing such a being simply knocked him out," he said.

Before Jack could respond, two engines roared through the base, and Arcee and Bulkhead drove in, transforming as they did. Jack and Miko ran to their guardians, making sure they were okay.

"We're fine, but we couldn't catch that thing," Arcee said bitterly and looked to Raf. "He going to be okay?" she asked.

"Give him a few hours, and he'll be up and running," Ratchet said.

The femme nodded, and the base descended into an uneasy peace as they awaited Raf's awakening…

_Outside Autobot HQ, several hours later…_

N was pressed against the cliff face of the mesa, amazed by what he'd seen. After he'd broken his cover, he'd led those two vehicles on a chase through town, sticking to the rooftops. Eventually the vehicles had given up, and N trailed them, curious to see where they were going.

While he couldn't follow them directly, he could follow their scent. Those vehicles gave off an odd scent, far different from the normal gasoline or diesel fumes he smelled. It had smelled…cleaner, almost…alive.

The scent had remained strong, and he'd tailed it to this mesa, where he'd witnessed the very walls split open and allow the two vehicles inside. This caused his mind to race with questions about his mysterious chasers.

Who were they? Why did they chase him? And why were they hidden inside a giant mesa?

N shook his head and started climbing up. Maybe if he made it to the top, he could find a way into the mesa and get some answers. The climb for any normal human would have been difficult at best, but for N, it was a breeze. He easily scurried from place to place, not even needing to find a foothold.

His hands and feet, similar to many insects, could hold to almost any surface he wanted. This allowed him to head into positions that no human could ever hope to reach without climbing equipment.

In a matter of minutes, the mutant teen had made it to the top of the mesa and pulled himself up. He stood up and looked around, a little shocked by what he was seeing. This was clearly no ordinary mesa.

Several grey structures, including a large grey platform adorned the top of it. Antenna, doorways, you name it and it was likely on top of this mesa. Question was, why?

N decided to investigate further and made his way in through an air vent. His body easily squeezed into the compressed space and he began a slow descent down into the mesa. He ignored the dust and cobwebs he came across and continued descending, his wings pressed flat against his back.

He wasn't sure why this was so easy; it just came naturally to him. He moved through the vent with practiced ease until he began to hear voices echoing through the vents. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but they gave him hope to continue.

He eased himself along until he saw light coming in from a vent up ahead. He stopped next to the vent and peaked out, his acidic eyes glinting in the light. What he saw next would have made his jaw hit the floor if it could.

He saw a large, wide open area with a higher platform and stairs crisscrossing the area, but that wasn't what got his attention. What got his attention were the forty foot tall robots walking and talking with the three children from that school, including the one who he'd transferred his memories to.

He looked and realized the child was unconscious and mentally slapped himself. Of course he was. He'd transferred 10 years of memories to him. That's why he was like this. N lightly knocked his head against the vent. How could he have been so stupid!?

He looked back up from his position at the unconscious boy. N didn't like most humans, hell he hated adults, but children he didn't. He'd grown up only among children and knew that while mean, they would never try to permanently hurt each other.

N decided then and there he was going to check on that kid, see if he could help him in any way to ease what he'd done. He reached his hands up to either side of the vent and wrapped his fingers through it. Once he had a solid grip, he tugged hard, and winced as the vent came off with a loud snap.

He peaked out and was relieved to see that no one had heard the racket he'd just made. Sticking his arms out on either side, he gently pulled himself out of the vent and scrambled on top of the shaft, resting atop it for a moment. He scanned the area, searching for a way down, before spotting the series of lights hanging low from the ceiling.

He stood on the vent and bent his knees prepping for a jump. Silently, he leapt forward towards one of the hanging lights. He grabbed the cable and winced as the lamp swung back and forth from his landing. To his surprise, the cable actually held his weight, and he looked on.

He repeated this process several times until he was standing on a large cylinder shaped structure made of glass and large enough to hold the largest of the robots below. He looked down and saw that the boy was left alone, clearly being given space so that he could rest.

The others all seemed to be embroiled in a conversation he only half listened to. They seemed to be talking about a…T-cog, a hammer, and what not. He didn't particularly care. Once he was done here, he would return to his hideout.

N saw a small steel bridge above the boy and readied himself for the jump. His tail slithered back into its spot, and he leapt forward, wings flared out to help slow him. There was a light clang as he landed on the steel, but the inhabitants didn't hear him, and he let out a breath of relief.

Moving silently, he leapt down and rolled next to the boy. He slowly stood and looked down at the boy. He had a peaceful look, likely a rouse given the turmoil that was likely going on in his head. N cradled the boy gently and placed his thumb and forefinger on his chin and forehead and concentrated.

He shifted through the memories, drawing out his own slowly and as painlessly as possible. He made sure only to leave his most important and least damaging memories in his mind. He left only the memories that would explain who he was and what had been done to him.

While cleansing his mind, N came across some of the boy's own memories. He found his name was Raf and discovered the names of his friends and the…Autobots as well. He wondered if maybe these Autobots could help him find Alyssa.

He dismissed the idea; they had their own problems and would be more likely to capture him. Still, it was a nice hope, and N filed the thought away for later. N slowly finished, opening his eyes and placing Raf back on the berth, his task complete.

He stood back up, ready to leave, when he heard a loud gasp. His head shot up, and he saw that girl, Miko, standing there in shock. N realized how bad this had to look and was about to say or do something, when Miko screamed.

"Guys, get over here! It's back and it's going after Raf!" she screamed.

N looked back down at Raf and at her and shook his head and hands in a defensive gesture, stepping back as he did. He was trying to clear up the misunderstanding, but it was too late. He heard thundering footsteps coming towards her and unsheathed his tail, leaping up at the edge of the higher area.

"Whoa, what the Pit is that!?" the fat green one, Bulkhead, demanded. N ran forward and leapt over what he now knew was the human's living area and ran towards the exit. He leapt forward off the platform and ran to the tunnel.

He was about to make it, when a large blue foot slammed in front of him. N scrambled to a stop, falling on his back before turning around and scrambling away, only for another foot to slam in front of him again.

N fell back on his rear and tried scrambling away, only for two large metal hands to engulf him. He struggled at first until his head broke free and he was eye level with a large, red and blue mech, Optimus Prime.

"What are you doing in our base?" he asked, but N ignored the question, trying to wriggle free. Optimus tightened his grip. "Why have you hurt Rafael?" he demanded.

N tried speaking but the words came out fragmented in his panic. "N-no, har tr fi," he said, the others unable to make out what he said.

Optimus sighed "I fear that if you are unable to properly tell us, we will have to restrain you until you are ready to speak,"

N froze, and his eyes widened in fear. "No, no, no!" he screamed, struggling harder as Optimus started to walk down a hall.

"Ratchet, grab the stasis cuffs designed for humans," Optimus ordered as he walked.

N continued to struggle against his grip, but Optimus was remarkably strong. "No, no! Ple, NO!" he begged, but the words came out distorted coming out in hisses. Optimus could not tell how terrified N was by his words.

N tried using his abilities to show him what he was scared of, but it seemed he couldn't share his memories and emotions with the Autobots. He was left to struggle against his grip as Optimus and Ratchet stopped outside a large, metal door.

The door opened with a hiss, and the two walked in. N looked around and saw that it was an Autobot room designed to hold someone of his stature. His blood ran cold as he realized he had escaped MECH only to get captured the next day.

"You shall remain here until we have time to deal with you. There are currently other matters to deal with," Optimus said.

He readjusted his grip to hold N by the scruff of his neck, and his tail whipped out, flailing about until Optimus caught it in a servo. Ratchet came forward and snapped a pair of odd cuffs on his wrists and a pair to his wings and tail as well. Once finished, Optimus set him on the ground and lightly pushed him forward.

N turned back towards the exit and rushed towards it, only for the door to slide closed. N slammed his fists against the door, restrained in these strange cuffs. "No, no, NO!" he screamed, pounding against the door. It was no use. He was powerless to break free. The cuffs and door were made out of a strong metal he'd never seen before.

N sat and brought his knees to his chest and silently began sobbing. He'd been freed, he was free and had a chance to finally save Alyssa, and now he was a prisoner again, and Alyssa would likely rot.

He knew who to blame though, who to blame for all this. The humans, it was their fault, at least to N it was. He snarled angrily. Next chance he got, he'd get back at them for this. He'd tried to help, tried to be nice and explain things the only way he could, but instead they'd screamed and gotten him captured.

That was a mistake they wouldn't live long enough to regret…

**A/N: Well…. I feel bad for any humans in outpost Omega right now. Remember to review with critique and PM me for plot based questions or ideas. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 3 Explaining

Chapter 3: Explaining

_Autobot HQ…_

The base was in an uneasy silence as the others waited for Optimus and Ratchet to return from restraining that…creature. The day had only gotten worse after it had knocked Raf unconscious. Bee had lost his T-Cog, and they were debating exactly what to do now.

Ratchet had shocked them all by volunteering to donate his T-Cog, but they'd been unable to continue their discussion as that mutant had apparently followed Arcee and Bulkhead to finish what it had started with Raf.

"I don't get it. How did that thing manage to even find the base?" Jack asked.

"Not sure, Buk and I made sure no one was tailing us. There's no way it could have followed us to base," Arcee said in her defense.

"Maybe it was tracking Raf's scent to try and finish him off!" Miko exclaimed. Bee let out a series of worried beeps and whirs, and Miko shrank down.

"Not that he could Bee, just a possibility," she quickly amended.

"Whatever the reasons for our guest's intrusion, we shall have to wait to find out," Optimus stated as he and Ratchet walked back into the main area.

"For now our guest is restrained, and we can return to our more immediate concern," he said.

"Bumblebee's missing T-Cog," Ratchet said sadly.

Bee's door wings sagged sadly as he was reminded of his disability. "Ratchet, you sure you want to do this?" Arcee asked.

"I am, and obviously since _I_ am the other patient involved, I will be unable to perform the surgery," Ratchet said. "Therefore, one of you must serve as my proxy."

Bulkhead and Arcee suddenly went ram rod still as Ratchet looked them over. He stopped at Bulkhead first. "Uh-uh, better at breaking things." he pointed out.

Ratchet nodded and turned to Arcee while Bulkhead let out a sigh of relief. "Arcee…" he started.

If it was possible, the femme became even more ram rod still. It was pretty obvious that she did _not_ want to operate on Ratchet. If the medic noticed this, he gave no sign of it.

"Optimus has steadier hands!" she pointed out quickly.

"Steady…and much too _large_ to be rooting around beneath my hood," Ratchet replied. The medic seemed to almost be enjoying the fact that he was torturing the femme, but it could just be a coincidence.

"Arcee you can do this…you're as steely as they come," Jack said reassuringly.

"On the _battle field_!" she growled, "not in an operating theater!"

"Same thing," he replied. "As long as you're behind the knife…not under it,"

This seemed to calm the femme, if only slightly. She still looked ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

"Does this mean Bumblebee will transform into an ambulance from now on and be all cranky?" Miko asked, shuddering. "'Cause that'd be _weird_,"

There were a few chuckles from everyone while Ratchet rolled his optics at the girl. "Well, let's not waste any time. Let's proceed to the laboratory," Ratchet said as everyone made their way to the Med-bay. "Arcee, these are all the tools you'll be needing."

He gestured to a wide variety of surgical tools, all neatly organized on a tray next to a berth that Ratchet would be lying on. Arcee's faceplate grew even paler as the medic began explaining the process of the surgery, and she looked ready to faint.

Once he finished the explanation, Ratchet lay on one of the berths while Bee lay on the other. "Inducing stasis," Arcee stated, and there was a click as she flipped a switch.

Bee lifted his helm to get a look at Ratchet. He let out a series of beeps that were clearly the scout's thanks towards the medic.

"You can…thank me…when it's…over," Ratchet slurred as he closed his optics.

"Ok, Bumblebee," Arcee sighed. "Your turn."

She held her hand to the switch…when an alarm rang.

"What's happening!?" Jack asked.

"RATCHET'S _FLATLINING_!" Miko shouted in hysterics.

"NO HE ISN'T!" Arcee snapped, shutting the girl up.

"It's an Iacon homing beacon," Optimus said as he looked up at the terminal. A world wide map appeared on screen, the location pinpointed on the map

"If we're picking up the signal," Bulkhead started, "it means the Cons just unearthed another relic!"

"Autobots, prepare to roll out…" Optimus ordered.

"Yes!" Arcee cheered, getting away from the medical tools as fast as she could.

**Bee seemed to whoop in excitement, wanting to go out and help the Bots as well. **"Except for our patients," Optimus finished.

Bee's wings drooped in disappointment, but he nodded reluctantly. The rest of the Autobots turned to the ground bridge and ran through, the portal closing up behind them. Once they were gone, Bee let out a disappointed set of beeps and whirrs.

"Hey, it's all right Bee," Jack said, trying to be some sort of comfort. "When they get back, you'll have your T-Cog back in no time."

Bee nodded sadly and walked out of the area, walking down a different hallway. He probably wanted to be left alone for now. Jack looked at the now two unconscious forms and sighed. Today had been a long day, and it would only get longer as time passed.

Jack's inner thoughts were interrupted when Miko started tugging on his arm." Miko, what are you doing?" he asked as she dragged him down the stairs.

"Taking you with me to go get a better look at the prisoner, duh!" she said as if it were the most obvious thing.

Jack ripped his arm out of her grip. "Are you crazy? We have no idea how dangerous that thing is!" he pointed out.

Miko rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to let it out Jack. I just want to see if we can talk to it, find out why it was after Raf," she said.

"B-but," Jack protested.

"Come on Jack; don't tell me you aren't a little curious about what this thing is?" she asked.

Jack scrunched his eyebrows together, thinking over Miko's words before speaking. "Fine," he sighed. "You're right. I am curious, but we are not letting it out, got it!?" he demanded.

Miko snorted. "Duh!" she exclaimed and resumed pulling Jack down the hall. The two quickly made their way to the handful of human cells the bots had. After MECH had revealed themselves, the Autobots had designed the cells in case they ever managed to capture any of the agents.

No such luck had occurred though, and the Bots had never had a reason to use them. That is, until today with the capture of their newest prisoner. Each cell was designed with two layers. The actual cell where the human was held and an outer room to allow interrogation without letting the prisoner escape.

It was here that Miko and Jack where heading when they heard an odd noise. "Do you hear that?" Miko asked curiously.

"Yeah…it sounds like…crying?" he asked, confused. He wasn't wrong. Light sobs echoed through the base and grew louder the closer they grew to the cells.

They eventually were standing right outside the door to the room and pressed a button. The door slid open and the two walked in, making their way to the side. They eventually found the large window that allowed them to see into the cell.

They were shocked, to say the least, by what they saw. N sat against the wall, his knees drawn to his chest, and was silently sobbing. The way in which he did it was so child like that the two had to wonder what this thing was. He hadn't been aware of their presence, so far, and simply sat there, quietly sobbing.

"What do you think it's crying about?" Miko asked quietly. Quiet for a human that is, but N heard what she said, his head shooting up.

The two stepped back in shock as N glared directly at him, all signs of sadness gone from his eyes, replaced with an easily recognizable emotion: Rage.

N stood to his full height, which was unaffected by the cuffs around his hands or wings. His tail extended and moved back and forth behind him as he walked directly towards the two. Jack and Miko backed away in turn, until N stopped directly in front of the glass.

The three stood silent, no one saying anything for the longest time. N just glared at the two through the glass, his wings pressed tightly against his back, his tail whipping back and forth in an irritated motion. Jack and Miko said nothing in return, afraid of his reaction. Eventually though, Miko broke the silence.

"Why is it just staring at us?" she asked Jack quietly.

N growled at them gaining their attention. "N-n-not i-i-i-t-t-t," he managed to get out, scowling at his difficulty.

"It can speak!" Miko said in amazement.

N slammed his hands against the glass. "NOT IT!" he screamed at the two.

The two stumbled back in surprise at his outburst, but said nothing. N calmed himself and let his hands slide down. "Not it," he repeated, much calmer. "Not it."

Jack stood back up, "If you're not an it, then what are you?" he asked, ignoring his fear.

N shot his eyes at Jack, examining him much more closely than their last encounter. "Look like…Alyssa," he said ignoring his question.

Jack's eyes widened at this sudden comparison. "Who's Alyssa?" he asked, curious at this girl he suddenly mentioned.

N looked down. "Friend… wi-t-h me in exper-exper," he snarled as he couldn't pronounce the words.

"Experiments?" Miko asked. N nodded.

"So you are an experiment," Jack said, earning another slam against the window.

"NOT EXPERIMENT, PERSON WITH FAMILY!" he screamed at them. His rage caused him to speak fluently, but it was fading fast.

"Ten years, ten years MECH tested," he said, swapping experiment for a less complex word.

"So you are a MECH experiment," Jack said in wonder.

"How old are you exactly?" Miko asked, her fear fading somewhat.

N pointed at Jack. "My age?" Jack asked, and N nodded. Numbers weren't his strong suit, he only knew how long he was locked up because Alyssa kept track. Besides that, he never bothered to learn his numbers, never saw a point to it.

"So MECH has been experimenting on you since you were six?" Miko asked horrified.

"Others too," N said, his tail and wings drooping.

"So these others, are they like you?" Jack asked cautiously.

N looked back up at him. "No, dead," he stated plainly. "Only Alyssa and I left," he said and hung his head again.

"Where is this Alyssa?" Miko asked, fascinated by this conversation.

N narrowed his eyes. "MECH," he spat.

"They still have her?" she asked. N nodded and walked away.

"Wanted to save, but got captured again," he said bitterly, his sentence coming out carefully.

"Well you shouldn't have attack Raf then," Jack stated.

N turned back around. "No harm Raf, show him," he said, pointing at his head.

"Show him what? You knocked him out!" Jack exclaimed.

"Memories," N said. "Show him memories…explain me," he said pointing to himself.

"You can share your memories with people?" Miko asked excitedly.

N nodded. "Dude, that is so cool. Can you show me!?" asked.

"Requires touch," N said simply.

"No problem," Miko said and made her way to the door.

"Whoa, hold on there, Miko. How do we know he's even telling the truth?" Jack asked, grabbing the girl by the back of her shirt.

"I no lie," N said pointedly. "Only humans lie," he hissed, some of his anger breaking through.

"You're human too," Jack pointed out.

"No, humans do this, make me this," N said, glaring through the window. "I no human for a long time," he said bitterly.

Jack eyed him suspiciously and turned to Miko. "Come on Miko, let's get back to the others," he said and pulled her out of the area, ignoring her protests.

N watched them leave and growled to himself as they left, walking away from the window. He began pacing, trying to figure out a way out of there. His talk with those two had motivated him. He needed to escape, to free Alyssa. He didn't need their help; he would find a way to escape, and they wouldn't stop him…

_Main hall…_

Jack and Miko made their way back into the main hall just as Bee came back as well. The scout buzzed a question at them, but they only gave him a confused look. Bee let out a disappointed buzz as he moped about.

Raf and Ratchet were both still out cold, so the two made their way back to the human living areas as usual to wait for the bots return.

The terminal suddenly blinked on, and Fowler appeared on screen. "Prime!" he bellowed in his typical greeting.

"I've got breaking news," Fowler snapped. "Where is…"

Bee walked up to the terminal and buzzed out an answer of sorts. Fowler just looked at him confused. "Huh? Where's Prime?" he asked.

Bee whirred out another answer, and Fowler sighed. "Look let him know I…just...received...access…to... satellite…imagery...which I believe…pinpoints the center of operation …of MECH," he said stating the words slowly.

Jack rolled his eyes at the Agent, and Bee beeped at the agent angrily. "Oh for the love of…!" Fowler snapped "Get me someone who speaks something other than 'bleep!" he said angrily.

Bee beeped indignantly when Ratchet suddenly awoke from his stasis. "I-I am able!" Ratchet hollered, sitting drunkenly upright. "...jus-t ask Bentour, he was alllll mandrill before i put a Tigor in his tank!" And he flopped back down on the berth.

Miko and Jack burst into laughter at the Medic's drunken rant before they returned their attention to the conversation between Fowler and Bee. Bee whirred some sort of answer, and Jack had a feeling he knew what the scout was planning.

"Bee," Jack said. "You heard what Optimus said about leaving the base!" he pointed out.

Bee whirred at the teen angrily before turning back to Fowler. Jack sighed. "Send the coordinates Agent Fowler. We'll make sure Optimus gets them," he said.

"Hmm, alright, but make sure he contacts me for confirmation," Fowler said, and Jack nodded. His picture blinked off the screen, and the coordinates flashed up instead.

Bee eagerly entered the coordinates and activated the bridge, walking through. Jack was about to turn off the bridge, when something caught his eye. N sped out of the hallway and skidded to a stop, looking from Jack to Miko and the portal. Before Jack could say or do anything, N shot through the portal, disappearing as it closed…

_Earlier, in N's Cell…_

N paced frantically back and forth, trying to think of some sort of way to get out. He looked at the cuffs on his hands and scowled. Every time he tried breaking them, he received a small shock, irritating him.

N sighed, angry at his situation. He was stuck whether he wanted to admit it or not. He wasn't going to get free anytime soon, and the Autobots probably wouldn't help him.

N was about to return to his spot on the wall when he mentally slapped himself. His tail was restrained, but the bots had no idea _how_ flexible it was. N held his cuffs out and stretched his tail to its full limit. It shot forward and shot through the cuffs.

N let out a pained grunt as electricity sparked from the cuffs before the device shorted out. N inwardly smiled and flexed his wrists, shattering the weakened cuffs with ease. He reached behind himself and ripped the cuffs off his wings, his arms bending back at an unnatural angle.

Once freed, he shook himself, getting himself flowing as he made his way to the door. He focused, trying something he should have tried earlier. His own strength was incredibly powerful, but N could delve into the strength of his past feedings and strengthen himself. True, he naturally grew stronger from feeding, but this was an extra reserve that he'd been building up over the years, and now was a good time to use it.

He felt his whole being begin to swell and saw his armor plating grow as his muscle grew in size and strength. When finished he was over a foot taller, and appeared to be covered in heavy plated muscle. He reared back a fist, and launched it forwards. There was a heavy boom as the door initially flexed under the impact before shattering off the hinge and flying across the hall.

N sighed and let himself return to his original size, the extra strength fading away from him. He stepped out of his former prison and looked around. No sign of bots anywhere. Now was his chance to make a run for it.

N shot off like a bullet, running down the hall, remembering the path Optimus had taken with him, and came to a skidding stop as he made his way into the main hall. Bumblebee was running through some sort of portal and disappeared. N looked up at the platform and saw Jack and Miko gaping at him.

Shrugging, N did the only thing he could: He ran through the portal after Bee. It was that or risk getting captured again…

_MECH Facility…_

N felt a wave of nausea roll through him as he stepped out of the bridge and shook himself. He looked back as the portal closed behind him and let out a happy laugh. He was free again, and now he would have to start over again. He stood up and scanned the area he was in and was shocked.

It was some sort of forested area with trees lining the area, the moon high in the sky. N inwardly smiled; it was dark, he was in his element. He would easily get away unnoticed. The Autobots wouldn't find him unless he revealed himself.

An explosion caught his attention, and N looked towards a large hangar base in a small clearing. He could hear shots and crashing from the base and moved forward to investigate. As he drew closer, he saw men in very familiar suits running towards the base and felt his blood boil.

This was a MECH base! Bumblebee was attacking a MECH base alone. N snarled. No way was he going to let Bee handle this alone; no telling what these monsters could have waiting. N also knew now was not the time to hold back, like in the past.

He delved into his reserves and felt the energy he'd built up over the years flow into him. It wasn't like before, when he'd focused it all for a few brief moments; now it was flowing into him, increasing his strength without causing him to grow or change. He was at his most powerful his body could handle.

N straightened up and flared his wings as he felt incredible strength flow through his body. So much energy had he accumulated that he noticed electricity sparking around him as the aura of those he'd absorbed, hundreds of men and women over the years, flowed around him.

The ground rumbled as N shot into the air, actually using the energy to make himself fly. He shot forward, skimming across the ground as he slammed into a group of guards, sending men flying into the air from his impact.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" one of them screamed and opened fire as N stood. The bullets simply ricocheted off of his armor, and N turned to him. Before he could react his tail stabbed him through the gut and began absorbing him.

While doing this N ran forward leaping over several guards. He swept them off his feet with his legs and slammed his fists down on them, leaving several small craters in the ground. N flicked the other soldier off his tail and shot towards several other soldiers. He leapt up twisting and turning in the air, his feet colliding with their chest.

There was a crunch as they were sent flying backwards from the impact. One of the soldiers pulled a knife on him and swung at him. N grabbed his arm and twisted it, causing the man to gasp in pain. With a swift chop, N shattered the man's arm and snapped his neck before he could even scream in pain.

N ducked under a punch from another man and shot up with an upper cut. His tail lanced out and impaled him while he twisted and elbowed another soldier. Two others opened fire on him, and N dodged and weaved between the bullets, his energy losing no ground. He dodged the rounds, getting closer and closer 'til he seemed to disappear and reappear behind them.

He grabbed their heads and slammed them together, ending them. He heard footsteps and turned to see over a dozen men, all armed with rifles, surrounding him. N smirked and stood firm, letting the energy build around him.

The group was silent as they watched him, electricity arching from N's body across the floor. With a shout, N released the energy he was holding and the men screamed as bolts of electricity arched out, striking the men who screamed in pain. Then, in an instant, they fell to the ground, dead.

N smirked as he realized all men outside of the base were dead. He'd finished them off. He looked towards the hangar and saw the yellow form of Bumblebee making his way through a sea of men.

The mutant teen shot forward, flying across the ground, electricity arching against the ground as he did. Now was not the time to be subtle. There was a loud crash as N blasted the semi-closed doors off their hinges, his eyes wild with battle rage. Every soldier and Cybertronian in the room froze to look at the ruckus.

Bee's optics widened in surprise and another one, Starscream if the memories from Raf where anything to go on, looked at him in mixed disgust and shock, but they weren't his focus. N looked past them and saw the familiar form of Silas.

Silas apparently had not forgotten about N either, as his eyes widened in shock. "Forget the Autobot, kill that!" he ordered and took off, leaving his men to fight off N and Bumblebee.

N didn't waste another second standing still and charged into the mass of men as the fight resumed. He slammed two fists into two different men, hearing their bones crack from his blows. He twisted around and his tail slammed into several men, snapping their spines and killing them instantly.

He jumped forward and slammed his fist into a man's face before stepping forwards and elbowing another man. He stabbed one man into the ground with his tail while kicking another man into the air. He shot his hand out towards a group of men firing at him and watched as electricity arched from his hands and fried them in seconds.

N inwardly smiled. He'd had no idea he could do that; it was good to see that he could. He felt several bullets ping off his shell and looked up to see men on several bridges firing at him. Big mistake.

N leapt towards them, slamming a man into the wall and causing it to crumble from the blow. He twisted and slammed another soldier into the wall before leaping forward onto another man. He brought his tail up and stabbed him in the chest, draining him in seconds. He was getting faster at this.

He looked up at the remaining men, and saw one of them throw a grenade at his feet. Before he could avoid it, it detonated, knocking him back. N felt several pains in his body and slowly opened his eyes to see cuts in his armor's weak points and small amounts of blood trickling from the injuries.

"See, it's not invincible, aim for the joints!" the soldier who'd thrown the grenade yelled. N got back to his feet and growled at the offending human. The man backed up as he realized the mistake he'd made.

N shot forward and grabbed him by the neck before he moved two feet away. The man struggled in his grasp for several seconds, trying to break free, but in vain. He brought a pistol out and fired point blank at N's chest several times where his chest plates met. The last shot managed to pierce his armor, causing him to snarl in pain.

Instead of dropping the man though, he impaled him on his tail, quickly absorbing the energy from him. The withered corpse dropped to the floor as the new energy healed N. He looked at his injuries and watched them heal, feeling his chest injury push the bullets out of the wound. He looked down and saw the armor fuse back together and smirked.

"One more step Autobot and your T-Cog is history," a gravelly voice warned, and N turned towards it. He saw that Starscream was holding a golden cylindrical object in his servo and pointing a blaster at it. Bumblebee was standing away very cautiously. Whatever this T-Cog was, it must be important to Bee, and MECH had stolen it.

N let out a low hiss. MECH was just as much Bumblebee's enemy as his own. As such, he'd help him with this T-Cog issue the best he could, as the remaining humans were either dead or had retreated.

N stood on the railing and leapt towards Starscream, who'd forgotten about the mutant entirely. N collided with the seeker's blaster, causing him to stumble to the side from the force of the impact.

"What in the world!?" he screeche and dropped the T-Cog, clawing at N. N ignored the scratches; his armor could handle it. He moved to what seemed to be an energy source for the blaster and slammed his fist through it. Scream let out a yelp, but N ignored it and let the electricity flow out, overloading his blaster.

There was a loud boom as Starscream's blaster detonated, destroying his entire right arm. N himself went flying back, smoke engulfing his body as he crashed into the ground. Starscream looked from Bumblebee to the stump that was once his arm and decided to cut his losses, transforming and flying off, trailing smoke as he did.

Bumblebee rushed to his T-Cog and let out a relieved sigh as he saw it was undamaged. He gently picked up his device and made his way over to N. The mutant had helped him get an important piece of himself back. He wanted to make sure he was okay.

He found the mutant unconscious and let out a small gasp at the sight of him. He was covered in burns and gashes from the explosion, purplish red blood leaking from his wounds. His entire right arm, the one he'd slammed into Starscream's blaster, was a burned out stump, black burns trailing along his side.

His battle mask was torn and bleeding, exposing his mouth less face with only the vents weakly inhaling and exhaling. Bee carefully set his T-Cog down and lifted the poor mutant up, cradling him in his servos.

He heard the sound of the ground bridge and saw the Bots come through, blasters raised. They quickly scanned the area before they spotted Bee holding N in his servos, his T-Cog next to him.

The three approached him. "Bee, what were you thinking!" Bulkhead scolded as he approached. "You could have been killed if you…Whoa, what happened?" he asked as he and the others saw the weakened form of N.

**"He helped me get my T-Cog back, blew up Starscream's arm to keep him from blowing it up," **Bee beeped and looked at Optimus. **"Optimus, we need to get him medical attention, it's the least we can do," **he begged.

Optimus just nodded and placed a servo to his com. "Ratchet open a bridge and ready your med bay…" He looked at N. "We have an injured comrade…"

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Oh boy, I am delightfully evil, aren't I? So, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to send your death threats later. For those of you who have been waiting *Cough* Meleesmasher*Cough* I will be updating some of my other stories now and starting my sequel to AToA on Saturday, so if you've been waiting for that, check it out. Remember to review with critique and PM me with plot based ideas and questions. Bye!**


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